Worst Fear
by marioandsonicFTW
Summary: I can't begin to describe it...It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen...It was more frightening than every monster we've ever faced...More terrifying than every fright...It was the one thing I am most scared of... My first one-shot!


_I can't begin to describe it...It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen...It was more frightening than every monster we've ever faced...More terrifying than every fright...It was the one thing I am most scared of..._

* * *

"Raggy. Raggy, rake up!" called a familiar voice.

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers was being woken up by his old buddy, old pal, old friend, Scoobert "Scooby" Doo. The best friends were taking an afternoon nap after having a big lunch of 10 cheeseburgers, 3 pepperoni pizzas, 5 orders of fries, and 8 large franks with everything on it.

"*yawn*...Like, what's new, Scooby Doo?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes, trying to focus his vision on his canine companion.

"Rook at rhe rime!" Scooby informed, pointing at the digital clock on his side table.

The time read "7:52 PM".

"ZOINKS! Like, the gang will be here soon!" He exclaimed as he went into a frenzy looking for his socks and shoes in his moderately messy room. Once he had them on, it took him a few seconds to realize he wasn't wearing pants. He was frantically looking for his pants when Scooby cleared his throat. Shaggy turned his attention to him and saw that Scooby had his pants grasped in his mouth.

"You found them!" Said Shaggy, relieved.

He put on his pants and said to the dog, "Thanks, Scoob. What would I do without you?"

"Uh...Ri ron't row." was Scooby's response.

"Come on. They'll be here any second."

Shaggy briskly jogged to his front door, closely followed by Scooby. Upon opening the door, both saw that their friends were outside waiting in the Mystery Machine.

"C'mon guys! We're close to solving the mystery." Called Fred Jones.

"Yeah. Just one more trip to Manning Manor." Informed Daphne.

"Like, if you guys say so." Responded Shaggy, already with a quiver in his voice.

Shaggy really wasn't looking forward to tonight. The previous night, Mystery Inc. had been investigating the case of the Ghost of Jackson Manning, who was said to be haunting his own mansion. They had been up all night being chased by the ghost while looking for clues. The gang were close to solving the mystery when it was close to dawn and they reached a dead end in clues to find.

Shaggy mustered as much courage as he could, which wasn't much by the way, and climbed into the back of the van along with Scooby, who was shivering in fear.

"It's okay, Scooby. It'll be just like any other mystery, right?" Said Shaggy, trying to comfort him and scratching his ear.

Scooby nodded in response with a shaky smile.

"So Freddy, what's the plan tonight?" Velma asked.

"I've planned out a trap for the ghost..."

"And let me guess," Shaggy interrupted. "You want me and Scooby to be the bait."

"You got it." Said Fred.

It was all part of the routine for Shaggy. He wasn't really surprised, but groaned at the fact. Not long afterward, the gang was pulling up to the mansion. Shaggy was staring at the gargantuan property and it was just as creepy as it was the night before. The wood was all worn out and there were gaping holes in some parts, some of the windows were broken, and the floors creaked loudly when walked upon. He and Scooby helped Fred get the trap equipment out of the Mystery Machine. It wasn't much stuff, so Shaggy believed it would be a fairly simple trap. Walking up to the front door was nerve-racking for both Scooby and Shaggy since the ghost could pop out and spook them the second that they open the door. Their teeth were chattering and they were shaken with fear. Shaggy grasped the door knob and quickly opened it. He sighed in relief as there was nothing there. The gang entered the foyer, which was pretty spacious. The room was furnished with old, dusty sofas, coffee tables, and a large, dull, chandelier and smelled like mold, which stenched every corner of the mansion.

"Okay gang. Time to set up our trap." Freddy announced.

The trap consisted of a large net, and two strands of rope, one long and one short.

"Need me to explain the plan?" He asked.

"Would you please?" Asked Velma sarcastically, knowing how basic the trap is.

"Okay. So Shaggy and Scooby will lure the ghost over here to this room. Once they pass through that doorway," he explained, pointing to the doorway on the wall opposite of the front door, "Velma, Daphne, you will trip him up with the short rope, he'll fall onto the net, which will be spread on the floor, and I'll pull it up, trapping him."

"Sounds pretty good to me." Said Daphne.

Fred spent no time in setting up the trap, which only consisted of tying the longer rope to the net and tossing the other end over the chandelier.

"Okay guys. We're all set." Said Fred, giving a thumbs up.

"Time for you two to find Jack's ghost." Velma said, pointing at Shaggy and Scooby.

"Like, I was afraid you were going to say that." Shaggy gulped. "C'mon Scoob."

"Ruh-uh!" Scooby shook his head.

"Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?" Daphne asked.

"Ruh-uh."

"Two Scooby Snax?" Velma added.

"Hmm...Rokay!" He agreed.

Velma tossed the Snax and Scooby caught them, skillfully, in his mouth.

"Ready!" He said excitedly after smacking his lips.

Shaggy and Scooby explored the Manor, searching for hide or hair of Jackson Manning's ghost. They followed the long corridors and searched room after room.

"Scooby, is there anything that we wouldn't do for a Scooby Snack?" Shaggy asked.

"Ri ron't rink ro." Scooby responded.

"Yeah, I think..."

There was a sudden clattering coming from one of the bedrooms that they had passed. Both friends froze where they stood.

"Like, did you hear that, Scoob?" Shaggy asked, voice cracking.

"Ruh-huh." Scooby nodded, shivering.

Both of them slowly crept toward the door to the room where they heard the noise. Shaggy reluctantly opened the door very steadily. The two peeked inside, but didn't see anything except for a bed, an open closet and a dresser.

"Well, no one's here! Better go back to the others." Shaggy announced, optimistically.

"Reah!" Scooby agreed.

The both backed from the door when they backed into something. It felt like another person behind them. The two started whimpering.

"Sc-Scooby?"

"Reah, Raggy?"

"I-I think w-we found the gh-gh-ghost."

They turned around to see the sight of a tall man wearing a moldy tuxedo and a long black cape. His face was utterly hideous as it looked like the face of a deathly sick old man, pale and ghastly.

"LEAVE THIS PLACE!" The ghost wailed.

"ZOINKS!"

Shaggy and Scooby yelled as they ran away toward the foyer. Shaggy turned his head to look behind him, but soon regretted it as he saw that the ghost was gaining on them. They ran back through the long corridors from where they came and were nearing their destination, along with the ghost inching closer and closer.

"GANGWAY!" Shaggy screamed.

He and Scooby burst through the doorway and Velma and Daphne pulled the rope as soon as they passed. The ghost tripped on the rope as planned and fell onto the net. Fred pulled on to the rope as hard as he could and the net had suspended itself, trapping the ghost. Fred tied the other end of the rope to the leg of a large sofa.

"We got him!" Fred shouted triumphantly.

"Nice job, guys." Daphne congratulated to Scooby and Shaggy.

"It...was...nothing." Shaggy panted from exhaustion.

Scooby fell over on his back, panting.

"Time to unmask this phony." Said Daphne.

She grabbed the "ghost's" head and pulled off what was actually a mask, revealing the face of...

"Christopher Manning!?" Everyone exclaimed.

Not long afterwards, two police officers arrived to arrest the so called "ghost".

"Thanks for the help, kids." Said one of the officers. "We never actually thought that Jackson Manning's grandson would be behind the hauntings."

"Well it was simple to figure out that whoever was haunting the place was looking for Jackson's secret stash." Explained Velma.

"But if we hadn't found the locket in the attic, which belonged to Christopher, we wouldn't have been able to piece it together." Fred admitted.

"And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your dog!" Said an angered Christopher.

The officers were about to cuff the culprit, but then Christopher forced himself free of their grasp by kicking the one behind him in the stomach and punching the one in front of him in the face. Both were disabled for a moment. He distanced himself and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Shaggy. Shaggy was completely paralyzed in fear. He couldn't get himself to move.

"I'll make sure you never meddle in other people's business again!" Bellowed Christopher in rage.

Shaggy could do nothing but shut his eyes and wait for the end to come.

"RAGGY!"

A gunshot rang out into the night. Shaggy felt nothing but him falling over, as if he was pushed. For a moment there was silence. Shaggy heard absolutely nothing except his own heartbeat, which was racing a mile a minute. Then the realization hit him. If his heart was still beating, then he wasn't dead. He didn't feel any pain at all. He sat himself up and turned his head...He immediately regretted it.

_"No...No...No!...NO!"_ He screamed in his head.

"SCOOBY!" He yelled louder than he ever did before, tears already rolling down his cheeks.

Scooby was lying on the ground, shot in his side, blood flowing out where he took the hit, staining the ground where he lied on.

The two officers tackled Manning to the ground, immediately placing his hands behind his back and place handcuffs on his wrists.

Fred, Daphne, and Velma stood in total shock. All four gathered around Scooby, with Shaggy on his knees.

"Scooby?...Scooby?..." Shaggy called as his voice broke.

He stroked the canine's fur.

Scooby began to shiver violently.

"...Ra...Ra...ggy?..." He was barely able to speak.

"I'm right here, old pal, old buddy, old friend." Shaggy said, choking on his words.

He was more than devastated. He was more than just scared. Shaggy was there, sitting next to his lifelong companion, who was slowly dying. Daphne and Velma were huddled close to each other, both sobbing. Fred was trying hard not to cry, but failing miserably.

"...Rit...hurts..." Said Scooby, tears of pain falling from his eyes.

"It's okay, Scooby...It hurts me too."

The pain was unbearable for both of them. Shaggy could feel his heart breaking.

He held Scooby close and Scooby struggled to softly lick him on the cheek. Shaggy broke down into sobs.

"Scooby! Don't die! You're my best friend! I love you!"

"...Ri...r-rove...rou...too..."

Scooby closed his eyes, finally relieved from pain. Shaggy hugged him close and cried. He was so scared and so hurt. He felt empty and felt it getting darker and darker until he couldn't see.

* * *

It was morning and Shaggy was waking up in his bed. He noticed that he was crying since his pillow was wet and his face was covered in tears. He remembered he had a horrible nightmare. He calmed himself down and got up out of bed. His bedroom door burst open and Scooby pounced on him, licking all over his face.

"Rood rorning, Raggy!" He greeted.

"Scooby Doo!"

Shaggy hugged Scooby as hard as he could while tearing up at the same time. Scooby got off of Shaggy, laughing his goofy laugh.

"Raggy? Are rou rokay?" He asked, noticing Shaggy's tears.

"I'm fine, Scoob...Just a bad dream." He responded. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Now how's about we get some flapjacks!"

"Rokay!" Scooby responded joyfully.

The best friends raced downstairs, happy.


End file.
